Protection of Privacy FAQs

Q: What information is not considered private under the FIPPA?

Public employees are accorded less privacy than private individuals like students. For example, Information such as the name, title and remuneration along with contact information such as business address, business email and office phone number of public employees is not considered personal information and therefore may be disclosed.

Q: If I am responsible for a committee that disseminates minutes, are there any precautions that I should take before distributing the minutes?

Most minutes should be prepared so that the information in them is of a public record nature and therefore will be no concern if distribution is made to others besides the committee members. If, however, the minutes deal with information of a personal or confidential nature —by naming or otherwise identifying individuals— precautions should be taken. The document should be marked "confidential" and should not be distributed to people other than committee members and, possibly, the individual(s) named in the minutes. Committee members should also take precaution when storing minutes that contain personal information. If a third party requests access to such minutes, please consult the Freedom of Information Coordinator first.

Q: In relation to FIPPA, are there any concerns around the use of Canadian web survey companies? Do you happen to know of any that we can recommend?

There are privacy issues even with Canadian web survey tools and personal information must be protected by our public body. The Office of Institutional Analysis & Planning may be able to help with names of Canadian companies to recommend to researchers.

Q: What about photos and other information that I want to include on my web page?

Contact Marketing.

Q: What does KPU do to protect privacy?

Employees are required to abide by KPU policies regarding privacy. This includes Policy C4 Confidentiality of Student Records and Files and G. 24 Confidentiality. Employees are trained in the handling of sensitive student and employee information. KPU's Information and Education Technology department endeavours to employ best practices in regard to data security by using secure servers, regulating access to certain sites, providing training resources online for the KPU community and regularly conducting audits of their systems.

Q. Can personal information be stored or accessed outside of Canada?

Public bodies in British Columbia, including KPU, are subject to restrictions on the storage of or access to personal information outside Canada. These restrictions, which are contained in British Columbia's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, require that all personal information in KPU's custody or control, including IP addresses and anonymous survey data, be stored and accessed only in Canada, subject to a limited number of narrow exceptions. If you have questions about the storage of or access to personal information outside of Canada and/or what exceptions apply, please contact KPU Legal Counsel. The Executive Director of Office of Planning & Accountability can provide advice on what survey tools to use to ensure survey data is stored in Canada.